Typically 300 m of electrical cable is required to wire the electrical circuits of an average three bedroom house in Australia. Even more cable is needed to wire up lighting circuits, when lights are controlled by more than one switch. As a result it generally takes an electrician 60% to 70% longer to wire up lighting circuits than to wire up all other electrical circuits. Furthermore switches often have too little space to safely accommodate more than two cables. In addition, should it be necessary to reconfigure existing switches in order to control a different light, for example following a renovation, it is necessary to install new wiring. However, new wiring is often routed in a wall cavity thus installation of new wiring is often more difficult.
In order to be able to more conveniently reconfigure and control lighting circuits, systems have been developed such as the C-BUS® system developed by Clipsal, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric (Australia) Pty Ltd. In addition, the C-BUS® system can be used to control other electrical devices in a home such as air conditioners, irrigation systems, and multimedia systems. In a lighting system, the C-BUS® system uses a separate Category 5 control cable wired to each switch from a central location, providing an intrinsically safe connection to the switch. In addition, power is routed and controlled to each light from the central location. However, as the power cable and the control cable are both routed from a central location, significantly more cable may be required to wire up an average sized home.
There is therefore a need for an improved electrical control system and method.
The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.